PRINCETON — A dog trainer accused of severely beating a dog in his care that died pleaded guilty today to a third-degree animal cruelty charge stemming from the August 2012 incident.

Under the terms of the plea deal, accepted by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mark Fleming, Michael Rosenberg, 32, of Princeton, will serve five years for his role in the death of the 3-year-old German shepherd mix owned by his client Tracy Stanton of Lawrence.

Rosenberg had been accused of dragging Stanton’s dog, Shyanne, along a road in Princeton. Authorities also alleged that Rosenberg hit the dog with a crop whip, slammed it into the ground and poked its ribs. It was also alleged that he had abused his own dogs.

Assistant Prosecutor Doris Galuchie said Stanton’s dog died due to hyperthermia, though a necropsy revealed other signs of abuse.

“The dog died from hyperthermia, the dog was overheated, but there were also signs of abuse,” she said. “So he had to have beaten the dog. The dog was in extreme distress.”

Stanton said she was referred to Rosenberg by a childhood friend who had recently met him and was aware of Stanton’s desire to have Shyanne trained.

She brought Shyanne to Rosenberg, who convinced her to let him keep the dog to train further. Two days later, Rosenberg called her saying Shyanne had collapsed while running.

She said her boyfriend subsequently went to pick up Shyanne and found her unresponsive and hosed down with water. Shyanne stopped breathing while being brought to Northstar Vets in Robbinsville.

Stanton said she requested a necropsy be performed after noticing Shyanne’s paws were bloodied.

According to archives, Princeton Animal Control Officer Mark Johnson had previously issued Rosenberg disorderly persons summons for cruelty to animals after witnessing Rosenberg dragging another dog on Elm Road in October 2012.

Rosenberg’s five-year term will run concurrently with a four-year sentence he received in 2011 on child endangerment charges for engaging in sexual activity with a juvenile.

The sentence had been suspended, but his attorney, James Wronko, said the sentence was reinstated after Rosenberg violated his probation by failing a drug test and attempting to cheat on another.

However, Wronko said had it not been for the drug failures, the animal cruelty charges would have still triggered a parole violation.

Another animal cruelty charge was dismissed under the terms of the agreement. The other charge would have carried an additional five-year sentence.

After the hearing, Stanton, who described Rosenberg as “a sick person” said she is glad to be able to move forward.

“I’m happy that people, the court and everybody who has supported this have sent a message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated,” she said. “When this happened there was nothing else he could have taken from me that could have hurt me more. That dog was my life. She was my baby.”

A sentence hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 5 at 9 a.m.

Editor's note: This post has been updated to correct information about the October 2012 incident for which Rosenberg was issued a summons. It involved not Shyanne, but a different dog.

Editor's note: This post has been updated to accurately reflect how the dog died.